U.S. Census 2010 data on same-sex couples has begun trickling out and, if the first two states are any measure, there are dramatically more same-sex couples in the United States than previously counted.

The U.S. Census Bureau is releasing 2010 data state-by-state on a rolling basis. It released numbers for the first two states  Alabama and Hawaii  June 16. The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, a nationally respected public policy research organization focused on issues related to sexual orientation, released snapshots of the data related to same-sex couple households.

The data show that, in 2010 in Alabama, the census bureau found 11,259 households headed by same-sex couples. That number is 3,150 (or 39 percent) more than in 2000, when the census bureau found 8,109 same-sex unmarried partner households in Alabama.

In 2010 in Hawaii, the census bureau found 4,248 households headed by a same-sex couple  1,859 (or 78 percent) more than the 2,389 same-sex unmarried partner households reported in 2000.

The data released thus far this year by the census bureau reports all same-sex couple households, regardless of whether they are legally married, in a legally recognized civil union or domestic partnership, or in a relationship that has not been formalized by law.

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